My Daily Essentials: Makeup Brushes

I shared my daily makeup essentials a little while back and as promised, here is my set of essential makeup brushes that have elevated my routine–without cleaning out my bank account. 

(Fair warning, these are all Real Technique brushes–

they are seriously amazing and the price can't be beat!)

(From right to left)

1. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush: Hands down the best liquid foundation brush ever, and I do mean ever. I have recommended this brush to at least two close friends and now it's the only foundation brush they use too. It blends liquid foundations seamlessly (say goodbye to brush strokes) and looks so natural while still giving full coverage. I also love using this brush with powders like my Bare Minerals foundation for a medium to full coverage look.

2. Real Techniques Blush Brush: I love my blush so if I can find something to make it look even better than count me in. This brush adds just a whisper of color to your cheeks and applies the color smoothly and evenly.

3. Real Techniques Multi-Purpose Brush: When I received this brush as a gift for my birthday last year I wasn't really sure what to do with it. It's too dense for a powder brush and not dense enough for liquid foundation. I've found it to be very good at contouring and highlighting and that is now it's official job.

4. Real Techniques Powder Brush: The newest addition to my collection, this powder brush may just already be one of my favorites. It's big, fluffy and so soft! It allows for a light dusting of powder to set makeup without looking cakey and also helps to blend out any too harsh contouring or blush. Sometimes I like to tap it into my [The] Body Shop Matte Bronzing Powder and dusting it all over my face for a nice tan glow.

5. Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush: My favorite way to use this one is for all-over lid color. It's a little more dense, which is good for packing on eye shadows making it ideal for lid colors.

6. Real Techniques Domed Shadow Brush: Best crease brush alert! The Domed Shadow Brush applies shadows into the crease with ease while still blending well.

7. Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush: Have you ever wondered how people apply darker shadows at the outer corner of the eyes? This brush is your ticket! It's pointed tip allows for precisely placing shadows in the outer corner and the flat sides help with blending it over the outer edge of the lid and up into the crease.

You can find Real Techniques online (www.realtechniques.com) or at Ulta stores.

What are your favorite makeup brushes?
Check out the rest of my daily makeup essentials here.

My Daily Essentials: Makeup

 My morning routines consist of rolling out of bed, grabbing coffee and breakfast, then makeup and clothing time! Within my makeup routine, I have my daily essentials–products that are 

vital in getting me out the door while still looking my best all day.

(From top left going clockwise) 

1. Revlon Colorstay 24 Hour Foundation (150 Buff): *Holy grail product alert* I don't know how it covers and blends so well while still staying put (mind you, shine-free) throughout the ENTIRE day without ever breaking out me out! I don't know how it works and I don't care, I am just happy it does.

2. Physicians Formula Conceal Rx (Fair Light): This stuff is some serious business right here. With the consistency of a thick paste it conceals with ease and doesn't budge once it sets.

3. The Body Shop Bronzing Powder (02 Fair Matte): Most shade of bronzer are too intense or ruddy looking for my fair skin. However, this shade is PERFECT for my fair skin ladies out there! It's pretty light and not too pigmented allowing easy blending for a natural glow.

4. NARS Blush (Orgasm): A cult classic, this shimmering beauty affords the perfect natural peachy-pink glow and works on just about any skin tone! After all, there is a reason why it has a cult following.

5. L'Oreal Lash Out Butterfly Effect Mascara (Black): I rarely go a day without mascara, it ties a makeup look together and makes everything look more polished. Plus, the tips of my lashes are blond so mascara is a must for when I want to look pulled together.

6. Maybelline Define A Brow (Light Taupe): This is like mascara for me–having filled in brows just pulls a look together and looks more polished. I don't do a ton of filling in, I like to just enhance the shape of my brows a bit.

7. L'Oreal Super Slim Infalliable Liquid Liner (Black): I reach for this liner whenever I don't want to bother with smudging pencils or time-consuming cream liners (which, to be honest, is most days.) It's pen-like shape features a very fine tip making it a breeze to apply in a pinch. No smudging or budging here, just clean liquid lines that stay put all day.

8. Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi Highlighting Concealer (Ivory): I talked about this product all of the time. It brightens the under eye beautifully, no matter if you stayed up too late watching Netflix, without weighing your eyes down or settling into fine lines!

9. Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (Natural): To set my new face in place, the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder comes to the rescue. Never looking cakey, this powder locks everything in place and gives my face the nice matte look that I am always wanting.

Check out my daily essential makeup brushes here.

Face of the Day || Filming New Video

Hey y'all! It appears that my "Face of the Day" posts are proving to be quite popular, so I am going to continue posting them!

Today I filmed a new video for my YouTube channel–JessicaFashionFix about the struggles of picking a career after college. Check out the video here.









FACE: 
-Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 150 Buff (I wear this almost every day.) Applied with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.
-Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi Highlighting Concealer in Ivory under my eyes.
-Rimmel Stay Matte powder in Natural to set my foundation.
-Urban Decay blush in Quickie on cheeks.

EYES:
-Covergirl Flamed Out shadow pencil in Ginger Flame on the lid, then Urban Decay Naked 2 in the crease, and Urban Decay Venus in the inner corners of my eyes (Brightens the entire eye.)
-I lined my upper lashes with Sephora Nano Pencil Eyeliner in Black and applied Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara (which I don't recommend...review coming in a couple of days.)

LIPS:
-To finish off the look, I used Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm in Sunny Berry (Has SPF 30!)

**Click pink words for links to the products**

Revlon Colorstay Foundation

The Rundown:

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation is said to wear up to 24 hours while giving your face a flawless look with a lightweight feel.

In the shade 150 Buff

The Reality:

Packaging 3/5 stars

The glass tube is a little heavy, but does have a nice substantial feel to it. The packaging loses stars when it comes to the top, there is no pump making it the standard pour-out tube of foundation. This makes it difficult to get the right amount (foundation comes gushing out of the bottle) making it messy.

Staying-Power 5/5 stars

This is where this foundation outshines others. It stays put all day even on the most oily skin types. Because it is so good at staying put, it can be a little difficult to remove. I use the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water to take it all off.

Shade Range 5/5 stars

This brand has two lines, the combination/oily skin line which has 15 different shades and the normal/dry skin line which has 12 different shades. (I have combination skin and have used both the combo/oily and normal/dry ones and have loved both.)

Coverage 5/5 stars

This foundation is a medium to full coverage foundation and is very build able. It is very easy to blend and I recommend using a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to buff it into the skin seamlessly. it takes a bit to dry so I wait a few minutes for it to set before apply powder over the top.

Price 5/5 stars

As far as drugstore foundations go, this one comes with a little higher price tag. It costs about $13-$14 depending on where you purchase it.

Lives up to its claims 4/5 stars

It doesn't feel as lightweight as other foundations I have tried, but that's expected since it is a medium to full coverage foundation. Other than that, this foundation is longwearing, blends well, has great coverage and stays put all day.

OVERALL 5/5 stars

Revlon Colorstay Foundation is my go-to foundation and I have been completely obbsessed with it for the last four months. I have tried a variety of high end and drugstore foundations but this one is argueably my favorite.

xoxo Jess

Side note: How pretty is this tree outside my window?! I love how bright red it is turning, it makes it feel more like Fall. 

New Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation

The Rundown:

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation is a gel stick foundation with an anti-shine core, supposedly leaving a natural matte finish. The lightweight powders in the anti-shine core are meant to instantly dissolve excess oil.

Shade: 115 Fair

The Reality:

Packaging 5/5 stars

The black tube with metallic light pink writing is so cute and durable! The packaging feels a little cheap but looks nice and is very easy to travel with or throw into a handbag. While it is a small tube, the gel-stick formula makes it much easier to transport and makes putting on foundation a breeze. The only caveat is you end up going through the foundation pretty quickly.

Staying-Power 3/5 stars

This is where I had some trouble. It does stay on and shine-free longer than most foundations however, I found that after about 4 hours my foundation was looking a little patchy. I've been spoiled by the Revlon Colorstay Foundation that stays on 8+ hours. This foundation is lighter feeling, stays matte longer than most, and feels powdery almost instantly after applying (in a good way).

Shade Range 4/5 stars

There are 12 shades in this line which isn't bad. There are a wide variety of lighter/medium shades, but the line is lacking deeper shades.

Coverage 4/5 stars

This foundation works best as a light to medium coverage foundation. The foundation is buildable, but the more you build the cakier the foundation starts to look. This gel formula works best as a light coverage foundation.

Price 5/5 stars

As far as drugstore foundations go, this one rings in at an average price of about $8 depending on where you purchase it.

Lives up to its claims 4/5 stars

The anti-shine powder core does as it claims, it makes the foundation go on silky and smooth. The gel stick foundation also works to keep the shine at bay without looking powdery.

OVERALL 4/5 stars

I would say if you're looking for a gel based stick foundation to keep you fairly matte and have combo/oily skin, you would be in good company with this foundation.

xoxo Jess